Battery construction



ALBERT Ii. M'UREN, OE BURLINGTON, IOJTA.

BATTERY CONSTRUCTION.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT L. Moan a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines and State oi lowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Battery Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object 01' this invention is to provide an improvement in batteries the type employing an alkaline electrolyte, in Which the active materials thereof dur ing the charge and discharge of the battery will remain undissolved in the electrolyte.

Another object oi this invention is to provide an improvement in a battery Whereby the heretofore metallic deposits of the battery are eliminated, thereby preventing treeing or bridging betivee the plates of the battery, and henceforth preventing short circuiting of the cell.

A. further object is in providing proved battery electrolyte.

Other and further objects will appear in the specification and be specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

As related in one of the atorementioner'l objects of this invention relative to an improved form out battery electrolyte it has been found that it an alkaline tungstate is dissolved in water and is used as an electrolyte, the zinc during discharge Will oxidize but will not dissolve in the battery solution, in which case there will be no zinc deposit during the charging of the battery. and henceforth there will be no treeing or bridgingbetween the plates, thereby short circuiting, as is done in other types of bat teries.

its an illustration of the zinc deposit tormation, any type oi batter" such as is known as the nickel zinc potassium cell, in which the metallic zinc is opposed to nickel hydroxide in potassium hydrate solution, the zinc on discharge being dissolved in the electrolyte Will 'l orni an alkaline zincate and the nickel hydroxide will be reduced to a lower condition of oxidation. Vi hen a battery or cell of this type is charged, the nickel hydroxide Will be oxidized to a higher state of oxidation, and the zinc will be plated out of the solution, thereby forming the zinc Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1919.

Patented May 233, Serial No. 270,!29.

cep-osit which Will invariably tree or bridge between the plates and short circuit the cell. 7

In making up a solution oi alkaline tungstate which comprises this invention and dis covery, the proportion of alkaline tune; state salts and water can be varied Within vvide limits, and either of the several forms oi tungstate such as potassium, sodium. l'iarium or lithium, known as para salts may be used. .OWGYGI'. the best results have been obtained with potassium and sodium tungz state solutions of twelve hundred to thirteen hundred gravity.

It will course be understood that this improved form of electrolyte may be used in any alkaline ba tery, either primary or secoio d a ry, and th at polar .ng; material may be employed, such toe oxides of c pper, silver cadmium mercury, or the hydroxides of nickel or cobalt.

In l'nakinp; a solution to the a orementioned alkaline tungstates, prer rence is given to the use oi? potassium or sodium. as the best results are obtained thereby in forming this improved electrolyte. Very good results. however. n be secured with a mixture several of the alkaline tungr'i'ate or by the addition or sodium or potasn hydrate with an alkaline tungstate 1 has been 'ound that a battery using an inc solution as called for in iinpro invention does not require 0 be scaled to exclude the in order to prevent the electrolyte changing its (unipositiou, and in addition has the iurther adre oi a hig er terminal ht r. and is suhicieutly hyd opic to T-ili'lttlll in the solution, and does not crystallize the jar tops as do most alkaline solutions.

.t l clam i.':

alkaline b. erv elei-trolvte conan alkaline tunostate. I

"V dll A battery electrolyte containing alkaline tungs'tates.

3.131 the construction of a reversible ALBERT L. MUREN. 

